The Family Storey that ends with a dash of gold as husband and wife triumph at velodrome

Sarah Storey won her second Paralympic gold medal at London 2012 to complete a husband and wife triumph at the velodrome on Saturday afternoon after her other half, Barney, had stood on top of the podium in the morning.

Mr Storey won gold as the sighted pilot in the tandem event along with Neil Fachie before Mrs Storey made it a fairy story by storming home in the C4-5 500 metres time trial in 36.997sec.

Success: Storey celebrates her gold medal-winning time trial

'We've won on the same day - I just can't believe it,' said Sarah. 'I'm so proud of him. 'I was sitting there watching his race and I was like "Wow, check that out. I've got to do him proud now!"'

Sarah Storey's achievements are a roll-call of versatile brilliance. She now has nine Paralympic gold medals (and 20 medals in total), won in two sports across six Games since 1992.

Born without a fully formed left hand after her arm had become entangled in the umbilical cord in the womb, her sporting career started in the swimming pool, where she won two golds in Barcelona at the age of 14.

She swam at four Games then switched to cycling after suffering an ear infection that kept her out of the pool for several months.

She has been collecting Paralympic gold on her bike since Beijing. She almost made it to the Olympics in Team GB as well, although such is the ferocity of competition across the whole of British cycling, she narrowly missed out on selection.

And the Storey tale is not yet over at these Games. She will also compete in cycling's road race and time trial.

All gold: Sarah Storey

Sarah, 34, and Barney, 35, first got together romantically in 2005, marrying in 2007, and they were naturally relishing each other's successes.

'Barney is the centre of my world,' she said. 'He has an immense knowledge in cycling and then I came along, this big-shouldered raw swimmer. He just taught me everything I know.

'[Before we got together] we sat watching Tours de France for years and watching the Olympic team, and Barney's there telling me where to improve - and you can't ask for more support than that. It wasn't until Athens I saw him a bit more and a bit more and eventually he plucked up the courage to ask me out - I thought he never would.'

Saturday's medal came in what is arguably the weakest of Sarah's four events at these Games. A packed partisan crowd roared in support as she was the last of 14 riders to tear around the track. 'It does feel that your own family has grown by about 6,000 people,' she said. 'I am so lucky to have had the chance to ride in front of them.'

When the clock showed her time was faster than that of Jennifer Schuble of the USA, who took silver, the volume went up another notch. Jubilant Storey did a lap of honour, stopping to embrace and chat with friends, family and fans alike.

'No one ever expected me to win a medal in a sprint event,' she said. 'I've ridden maybe nine track sessions before this race, so it has been an incredible journey. To come away with a gold medal and hear that roar again makes me so proud.'

Dynamic duo: Neil Fachie (left) and Barney Storey (right)

Her road races take place this week at Brands Hatch, where another two gold medals would see her draw level with Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson's British woman's record of 11 Paralympic gold medals.

Away from cycling, Sarah is a big football fan and a Manchester United season ticket holder. She lists the TV show Sex And The City as her favourite, and once appeared on an edition of Celebrity Mastermind with that show as her specialist subject. She finished last - not something that happens in her sporting life.

Her husband and Fachie won gold for Great Britain in the tandem blind and visually impaired 1km time trial in a world record time -and then Fachie said it was 'devastating' that fellow Britons Anthony Kappes and Craig MacLean had not been able to race against them.

The latter pair are the world champions and were the pre-race favourites to top the podium but were disqualified after two mechanical mishaps at the start.

That opened the way for Fachie, who is partially sighted, to pedal to glory in a new world mark of 1min 1.351sec ahead of Spain's Jose Enrique Porto and Jose Antonio Villanueva and the Netherlands' Rinne Oost and Patrick Bos.

The need for an explosive start requires the riders to exert huge pressure, and Kappes and MacLean were twice forced to stop due to chain failures. One mechanical failure is allowable but two results in expulsion.

'It was devastating our team-mates didn't get the ride. They would've pushed us hard, I'm sure,' said Fachie. 'Honestly, though, I thought we could do it [anyway]. I didn't know it would be that quick.'

Storey said he was 'gutted' at the disqualification of his friends, adding: 'You could see them flexing on the start. The mechanics put their hands in front of their eyes and looked away. But that's sport.'

Kappes said: 'The bikes we've been riding for the last few months have been a real project and today they've let us down. If the bike lets us down, then there's not a lot you can do.

'We know the rules. You can't hold back, it's only a kilometre. After the first one you might be tempted to ease off the pedals, but that won't win you the race. It was all or nothing.'

Barney Storey said the atmosphere and the immense sense of camaraderie within the British team helped to drive him and Fachie to victory.

'It just felt like we were at a training session, to be honest,' he said. 'It was the same people helping us get on the bikes. It was only once we started after a few revs that I thought there's actually quite a few people in here.'